Ice ceeepee



(No Model.)

G. 0. HALE. ICE GREEPEB. APPLIANCE FOR HORSESHOBS. No. 586,488. IPatented July 13, 1897.

Suva/ 0oz Wane/sow m cwg/il 7 I V 620/" 6 6 /3576 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

GEORGE C. HALE, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

lCE-CREEPER APPLIANCE FOR HORSESHOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 586,488, dated July 13,1897. Application filed March 10, 1897. Serial No. 626,782 (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, GEORGE O. HALE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Horseshoes; and Ido hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in ice-creeper appliances forhorseshoes of the kind shown and described in my application for LettersPatent of the United States filed December 28, 1896, Serial No. 617,223;and the object of my present improvements is to render the creeperapplicable to horseshoes without respect to the width of the shoe fromside to side, or to the depth or thickness of the shoe, or to theposition on the sides of the shoe which the creeper-plates may assumewhen they are applied or fitted to the shoe or when the shoe is inservice.

In applying an ice-creeper to a horseshoe there are certain conditionswhich must be observed, among which the most important consists inarranging the elements of the creeper appliance to avoid interferenceand contact with the frog of the horses foot. As is well known,horseshoes vary a great deal in shape and dimensions, and a creeper foruse universally on shoes of different sizes and thicknesses must beadjustable not only as to the width but also as to the thickness of theshoe and without coming in contact with the frog in the hoof. It is alsoimportant in the provision of an ice-creeper appliance to overcome anytendency of the attachment from loosening owing to the skuff or slightsliding action of the shoe when the hoof strikes the ground; and afurther requirement is to make the fastening device accommodate itselfto any position which the side plates may assume on the shoe, either inservice or when applied initially thereto, but without straining orbending the fastening appliance. These conditions I have sought toattain in my present improvement in ice-creeper appliances, which,generally speaking, consists of a pair of channeled plates provided attheir central portions with elongated tapering or bellshaped sockets, asingle transverse bolt fitted in said sockets to have long bearingstherein and provided with means for holding itself and said platesrigidly in position, and insertible calks fitted in the side plates andhaving washers for building up the calks between the creeper-plates andthe shoe to make the creeper applicable to shoes of differentthicknesses. The channeled plates are to be applied to opposite sides ofa shoe, and the bellshaped or tapering sockets thereon enable the boltto be canted or tilted sidewise, should the plates assume a position outof line with each other on the shoe, without straining 0r bending thebolt, the latter having long bearings in the sockets to overcome anytendency of the bolt freeing itself from the plates. The bolt and thesockets in the side plates are arranged on the creeper-plates to assumea position, when the creeper is applied to the shoe, well forward of thefrog in the horses hoof. And the invention further consists in the novelconstruction and arrangement of parts and in the combination of deviceswhich will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand my invention, I have illustrated thepreferred embodiment of the same in the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is an inverted orbottom plan view of my creeper appliance in position on a horseshoe.Fig. 2 shows a similar view with the creeper-plate thrown out ofalinement, illustrating the bearing of the bolt in the sockets in theplates. Fig. 3 is an edge view of a shoe with my creeper thereon. Fig.tis a transverse sectional elevation on the plane indicated by thedotted line 4 l of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional elevationthrough the shoe and creeper on the plane indicated by the dotted line 55 of Fig. 1, showing the manner of fastening one of the insertible calksand of building up the same to make the creeper applicable to shoes ofdifferent thicknesses. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of one of thecreeper-plates.

Like numerals of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figuresof the drawings, referring to which 1 and 2 designate the plates of myicecreeper appliance. 3 is the single cross-bolt. 4 is the nut thereon,and 5 is the locking-key or pin for holding the nut at in place. Noclaim is made, broadly, to this general organization and combination, assuch matter is embraced in my other application, to which reference hasbeen made.

Each of the plates is channeled in one edge, as at 6, and on the lowerface of the plate is provided a series of calks 7, which are integralwith the plate and spaced at suitable intervals thereon. The ends of theplates are bent outward at an angle to the general curvature of theplate, as at 8, and these angular ends have vertical openings 9 formedtherein, the upper ends of which openings are enlarged to form thecavities 10, for a purpose to be explained. The plate is furtherprovided at about midway its length with the enlarged boss 11, thatprojects on the inner edge of the plate, and through the plate and itsboss is formed the socket 12, the length of which is equal to the lengthof the boss and the width of the creeper-plate, whereby the socket isadapted to form an elongated bearing for one end of the bolt 3. Thedepth of the socket is slightly longer than the diameter of the bolt,but the socket is not of uniform width throughoutits length because itis made tapering longitudinally, the smaller end of the socket openingthrough the boss 11, while the wide or flared end of the socket opensthrough the outer face or edge of the plate, as shown by Fig. 3. Theboss 11 on the plate 1 has a notch let out therein to accommodate ashoulder or fixed nut 15 on the bolt 3, which shoulder or nut is capableof a limited play in the notched seat let to permit the bolt 3 to assumethe tilted or canted position in the flared or tapered sockets of theplates when the latter assume positions on the shoe where the twosockets of said plates do not exactly coincide or register with eachother, but the shoulder or nut engages with said notched seat to such anextent as to hold the bolt against axial rotation. The boss 11 on theother plate 2 of the creeper has a groove or channel 15 provided in itsend face, and the adjustable nut 4 likewise has one or more grooves 16produced in its face that abuts against said channeled end of the bossor plate 2, whereby a locking pin or key 5 is adapted for insertion intosaid grooves 15 and 16 when they register, in order to hold theadjustable nut L in a positive fixed position.

Each plate of the creeper and its integral calks are to be made ofcast-steel in a single piece and the integral calks are hardened andtempered to render them strong and durable in service.

In connection with the creeper-plates having the integral calks and thevertical open ings 9 in the ends of said plates I use the insert-iblesteel calks 19 and 20, a pair of insertible calks being provided foreach creeperplate. The insertible calk consists of a cylindrical steelpin having a pointed lower end and an integral enlarged disk-like headat its upper end, such pin and head being smooth and unformed withscrew-threads or, other rough surfaces. Thecalks 19 20 are passedthrough the openings 9 in each plate and the heads thereof rest withinthe cavities 1O in the upper sides of the plates, thus making the headsof the calks bear against the lower face of the shoe. In case the platesare applied to a shoe the thickness of which is less than the depth ofthe channels in the plates and the plates fit loosely on the shoes tohave a limited vertical play thereon I employ the washers 21, one or'aseries of which is fitted on the calk-pin below the head of the calk tolie in the cavity 10 of the plate, thus raising the head of the pin tobear against the shoe and building up the insertible calk to providefirm bearings for the plate and the insertible calks against the shoe.

To apply my creeper to a shoe, the side. plates have their channelededges fitted against the inner sides of a shoe, the bolt is,

placed in the sockets for the fixed shoulder or nut 15 thereon to engagethe notched seat 14, the adjustable nut 4 is screwed against the boss 11of plate 2 to force the plates away from each other and press themtightly against the shoe, and the key or pin engaged with the boss 11and nut 4. In case the shoe is a light or thin one the washers 21 arefitted to the in-. sertible calks and the space between the plates andshoe is built up by the washers to pro,- vide firm bearings and enablethe plates to be held rigidly on the shoe.

It frequently happens that the side plateswhen fitted to a shoecannotassume positions where the sockets in the plates are in alinement witheach other, owing to differences in the shape and sizes of variousshoes, but in my creeper it is not necessary that the sockets of saidplates, shall be in exact coincidence, because the flared elongatedsockets enable. the bolt to be fitted in and connected to the plates bylong bearings irrespective of the positions of the plates, relative toeach other.

My improved construction provides for the use of ice-creepers onhorseshoes of difierent sizes and thicknesses without changing theconstruction of the creeper appliance or ne-. cessitating the bending ofthe, bolt. creeper appliance may be easily and quickly applied to a shoeand held rigidly thereon,

and it is simple and durable in construction and cheap of manufacture.

The calks on the creeperrplates may be sharpened, if desired, but thismay not. be necessary in view of the employment of; the. insertiblecalks, which when worn may be replaced at a trifling expense with newcalks to provide an efficient holding-surface for the creeper on thehorseshoe.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to. secure by Letters Patent, is+

1. As anew article of manufacture, an ice, creeper appliance consistingofplates haying integral calks at intervals along'their lengths,

The

and sockets at the ends of said plates, and

insertible calks adapted to be fitted in said sockets of the plates, asand for the purposes described.

2. As a new article of manufacture, an icecreeper appliance consistingof caststeel plates provided at their ends with sockets and at intervalsalong their lengths with integral hardened and tempered calks betweensaid sockets, and insertible steel calks fitted in said sockets, for thepurposes described, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of creeper-plates provided with elongated flaredsockets, a single bolt having its ends fitted in said sockets to havelong bearings therein, and means for holding the bolt rigidly connectedto said plates, as and for the purposes described.

4. The combination with creeper-plates, of a single transverse boltconnected to both plates by long bearings which permit the plates to lieone slightly in advance of the other, and means for connecting said boltrigidly to both plates, as set forth.

5. The combination of a creeper-plate having a calk-socket, aninsertible headed calk fitted in said socket, and washers fitted on thecalk below its head and arranged in the washers fitted on the calks andin the cavities of said plates, and a bolt connectedrigidly to theplates, substantially as and for the purposes described.

7 The creeper-plates having calk-openings at their ends, the integralcalks between said openings, and the transverse flared sockets, and theinsertible calks and washers fitted in said openings in the ends of saidplates, combined with a single bolt fitted at its ends in the flaredsockets of said plates and connected rigidly but detachably to oneplate, and an adjustable nut fitted on the bolt and adapted to befastened to the other plate, as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE O. HALE.

Witnesses:

LOUIS ROBIDOUX, R. R. J ONES.

